Spreader (mining)

The primary function of a spreader is to act as a continuous spreading machine in large-scale open pit mining operations.

The discharge boom can be fixed, liftable or slewable and is determined by specific operational requirements.

[1] Bucket-wheel excavators, BWEs, are used for continuous overburden removal in surface mining applications.

They use their cutting wheels to strip away a section of earth (the working block) dictated by the size of the excavator.

Although it may appear similar in function and appearance to stackers, the purpose of the spreader is to receive overburden from the haulage conveyor from the sorting area and dump it in an orderly and efficient manner, whereas a Stacker simply piles bulk material onto a stockpile so that the resulting reclaimer could recover it.